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Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes
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Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 62813

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Pasquale Avino

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences (DiAAA), University of Molise, Via de Sanctis, 86100 Campobasso, Italy
2. Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research, Division of Rome, c/o Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, 00147 Rome, Italy
Interests: biomass; renewable energy; biofuels; carbon neutrality; energy crops; waste-to-energy; biochemical processes; thermochemical processes; anaerobic digestion; biogas; biomethane; liquefaction; manure; digestate; circular economy; bioenergy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Massimiliano Errico

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Environmental Technology, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Interests: design and optimization of separation processes; process synthesis for the separation of multicomponent mixtures; biofuels separation and purification; bio-alcohols; recovery of natural compounds; biowastes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Aristide Giuliano

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Guest Editor
ENEA–Italian Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development, Department of Energetic Technologies, Trisaia Research Centre, I-75026 Rotondella, Italy
Interests: process optimization; process simulation; mathematical modeling; environmental assessment; biomass valorization; air quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Hamid Salehi

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Guest Editor
Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology, Faculty of Engineering & Science, University of Greenwich, London SE10 9LS, UK
Interests: powder technology; particulate material handling; mechanical modeling; food engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Primary energy consumption around the world has been increasing steadily since the Industrial Revolution and shows no signals of slowing down in the coming years. This trend is accompanied by the increasing pollutant concentration on the Earth’s biosystems and the general concerns over the health and environmental impacts that will ensue. Air quality, water purity, atmospheric CO2 concentration, etc., are some examples of environmental parameters that are degrading due to human activities. These ecosystems can be safeguarded without renouncing industrial development, urban and economic development through the use of low environmental impact technologies instead of equivalent pollutant ones or through the use of technologies to mitigate the negative impact of high emissions technologies. Pollutant abatement systems, carbon capture technologies, biobased products, etc. need to be established in order to make environmental parameters more and more similar to the pre-industrialization values of the planet Earth. Papers addressing these topics are invited for this Special Issue, especially those combining a high academic standard coupled with a practical focus on green processes and a quantitative approach to environmental impacts.

Prof. Dr. Pasquale Avino
Dr. Massimiliano Errico
Dr. Aristide Giuliano
Dr. Hamid Salehi
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • environmental impact
  • low emissions processes
  • biobased
  • carbon capture
  • pollution mitigation
  • pollutant abatement technologies
  • air quality
  • carbon footprint
  • water footprint
  • environmental indicators

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Published Papers (16 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 280 KiB  
Editorial
Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes
by Aristide Giuliano, Massimiliano Errico, Hamid Salehi and Pasquale Avino
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(23), 15575; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315575 - 24 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1873
Abstract
Global primary energy consumption has been steadily increasing since the Industrial Revolution, and it is showing no sign of slowing down in the coming years [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

20 pages, 3278 KiB  
Article
Channeled PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 Emission Factors Associated with the Ceramic Process and Abatement Technologies
by Irina Celades, Vicenta Sanfelix, Ana López-Lilao, Salvador Gomar, Alberto Escrig, Eliseo Monfort and Xavier Querol
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9652; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159652 - 5 Aug 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2127
Abstract
A sampling methodology and a mathematical data treatment were developed that enable to determine not only total suspended particulates (TSP) emitted at channeled sources but also the PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 mass fractions (w10, w2.5 [...] Read more.
A sampling methodology and a mathematical data treatment were developed that enable to determine not only total suspended particulates (TSP) emitted at channeled sources but also the PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 mass fractions (w10, w2.5, and w1) and emission factors (E.F.), using a seven-stage cascade impactor. Moreover, a chemical analysis was performed to identify the elements present in these emissions. The proposed methodology was applied to different stages of the ceramic process, including ambient temperature (milling, shaping, glazing) and medium–high-temperature (spray-drying, drying, firing, and frit melting) stages. In total, more than 100 measurements were performed (pilot scale and industrial scale), which leads to a measurement time of 1500 h. Related to the mass fractions, in general, the mean values of w10 after the fabric filters operated at high performance are high and with little dispersion (75–85%), and it is also observed that they are practically independent of the stage considered, i.e., they are not significantly dependent on the initial PSD of the stream to be treated. In the case of the fine fraction w2.5, the behavior is more complex (w2.5: 30–60%), probably because the only variable is not the cleaning system, but also the nature of the processed material. Regarding abatement measures, the use of high-efficiency cleaning systems considerably reduces the emission factors obtained for fractions PM10, PM2.5, and PM1. In reference to chemical analysis, the presence of ZrO2 and Ni in the spray-drying and pressing stages, the significant concentration of ZrO2 in the glazing stage, the presence of Pb, As, and Zn in the firing stage, and the presence of Zn, Pb, Cd, and As compounds in the frits manufacturing should all be highlighted. Nevertheless, it should be pointed out that the use of some compounds, such as cadmium and lead, has been very limited in the last years and, therefore, presumably, the presence of these elements in the emissions should have been also reduced in the same way. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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18 pages, 1198 KiB  
Article
Does a Recycling Carbon Tax with Technological Progress in Clean Electricity Drive the Green Economy?
by Weijiang Liu, Min Liu, Tingting Liu, Yangyang Li and Yizhe Hao
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(3), 1708; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031708 - 2 Feb 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2666
Abstract
The environmental issue is a significant challenge that China faces in leading the development of the green economy. In this context, reducing CO2 emissions is the key to combatting this problem. Taking the 2017 social accounting matrix (SAM) as the database and [...] Read more.
The environmental issue is a significant challenge that China faces in leading the development of the green economy. In this context, reducing CO2 emissions is the key to combatting this problem. Taking the 2017 social accounting matrix (SAM) as the database and combing macroeconomic parameters from previous studies, this article constructed the environmentally computable general equilibrium (CGE) model as an analytical model to analyze the economic–environmental–energy impacts of recycling carbon tax with technological progress in clean electricity. We found that when the rate of clean electricity technological progress reaches 10%, the carbon recycling tax that reduces corporate income taxes will achieve a triple dividend of the carbon tax, namely, promoting economic development, reducing carbon emissions, and improving social welfare. In the meantime, on the basis of carbon tax policies that raise the price of fossil energy, clean electricity technological progress will help accelerate the transformation of electricity structure, reduce the proportion of thermal power generation, and better promote emission reduction. In addition, due to the high carbon emission coefficient, coal contributes significantly to carbon emission reduction. Therefore, China should implement a carbon tax recycling policy supplemented by the progress of clean power technology as soon as possible to better promote green economy development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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20 pages, 416 KiB  
Article
Do Tournament Incentives Matter for CEOs to Be Environmentally Responsible? Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies
by Sajid Ullah, Farman Ullah Khan, Laura-Mariana Cismaș, Muhammad Usman and Andra Miculescu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(1), 470; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010470 - 1 Jan 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3209
Abstract
Relying on tournament theory and environmental management research, we examine how CEO tournament incentives induce top executives to invest more in green innovation. Using a sample of Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2016, we find evidence that CEO tournament incentives are positively [...] Read more.
Relying on tournament theory and environmental management research, we examine how CEO tournament incentives induce top executives to invest more in green innovation. Using a sample of Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2016, we find evidence that CEO tournament incentives are positively associated with green innovation. In addition, we find that a positive relationship between CEO tournament incentives and green innovation is stronger in state-owned enterprises than in non-state-owned enterprises. These results support tournament theory, which proposes that better incentives induce top executives’ efforts to win the tournament incentives, and such efforts are subject to fiercer competition among employees, which improves firms’ social and financial performance. Moreover, our findings have implications for policy makers and regulators who wish to enhance environmental legitimacy by providing tournament incentives to top executives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
17 pages, 858 KiB  
Article
Linking Green Human Resource Practices and Environmental Economics Performance: The Role of Green Economic Organizational Culture and Green Psychological Climate
by Syed Mehmood Ali Shah, Yang Jiang, Hao Wu, Zahoor Ahmed, Irfan Ullah and Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(20), 10953; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010953 - 18 Oct 2021
Cited by 48 | Viewed by 6003
Abstract
An eco-friendly environment with green strategies can help to achieve better environmental performance. However, literature on the relationship between green human resource management practices (GHRMP) and sustainable environmental efficiency (SEF) is limited. Moreover, there is limited knowledge about the factors that could mediate [...] Read more.
An eco-friendly environment with green strategies can help to achieve better environmental performance. However, literature on the relationship between green human resource management practices (GHRMP) and sustainable environmental efficiency (SEF) is limited. Moreover, there is limited knowledge about the factors that could mediate the relationship between GHRMP and SEF. Therefore, the present study examines the impact of green human resource management practices mediating through green psychological climate (GPC) and green organizational culture (GOC) for better environmental efficacy. For this purpose, the primary data on variables are collected by using structured assessment tools and analyzed through regression models. Unlike previous studies, this study adopts a mediation model and unfolds not only the role of green human resource practices in psychological climate and green organizational culture but also clarifies the mediating role of GPC and GOC in sustainable environmental efficiency. The findings unfolded that ecological factors such as green psychological climate, green organizational culture, and sustainable environmental efficiency are positively affected by green human resources management. In addition, green organizational culture and green psychological climate positively mediate the relationship between GHRMP and SEF. This study recommends adopting green human resource management strategies and increasing technical innovations to improve sustainability and economic performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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16 pages, 898 KiB  
Article
How to Promote Low-Carbon Economic Development? A Comprehensive Assessment of Carbon Tax Policy in China
by Weijiang Liu, Yangyang Li, Tingting Liu, Min Liu and Hai Wei
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(20), 10699; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182010699 - 12 Oct 2021
Cited by 29 | Viewed by 4477
Abstract
Facing the increasingly severe environmental problems, the development of a green and sustainable low-carbon economy has become an international trend. In China, the core issue of low-carbon economic development is effectively resolving the contradiction between the exploitation and utilization of fossil energy and [...] Read more.
Facing the increasingly severe environmental problems, the development of a green and sustainable low-carbon economy has become an international trend. In China, the core issue of low-carbon economic development is effectively resolving the contradiction between the exploitation and utilization of fossil energy and greenhouse gas emissions (mainly carbon emissions). Based on the SAM matrix, we established a static Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to simulate the impact of carbon tax policies on energy consumption, carbon emissions, and macroeconomics variables under 10, 20, and 30% emission reductions. Meanwhile, we analyze the impact of different carbon tax recycling mechanisms under the principle of tax neutrality. We find that the carbon tax effectively reduces carbon emissions, but it will negatively impact economic development and social welfare. A reasonable carbon tax recycling system based on the principle of tax neutrality can reduce the negative impact of carbon tax implementation. Among the four simulated scenarios of carbon tax cycle, the scenario of reducing residents’ personal income tax is most conducive to realizing the “double dividend” of carbon tax. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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18 pages, 1363 KiB  
Article
An Analysis of the Impact of the Emissions Trading System on the Green Total Factor Productivity Based on the Spatial Difference-in-Differences Approach: The Case of China
by Susheng Wang, Gang Chen and Xue Han
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(17), 9040; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18179040 - 27 Aug 2021
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 5965
Abstract
How to effectively identify the spatial effect of the emissions trading system(ETS) on urban green total factor productivity(GTFP) generated through the linkage of economic factors between cities is a necessary part of scientifically evaluating the effect of ETS policy in emerging- market countries. [...] Read more.
How to effectively identify the spatial effect of the emissions trading system(ETS) on urban green total factor productivity(GTFP) generated through the linkage of economic factors between cities is a necessary part of scientifically evaluating the effect of ETS policy in emerging- market countries. This study aims to examine the spatial effect, mechanism, and heterogeneity of the ETS on urban GTFP based on the panel data of 281 cities from 2004 to 2017 in China, applying spatial difference-in-differences(DID) Durbin model (SDID-SDM) with multidimensional fixed effect (FE). The results show that ETS significantly improves the GTFP of the pilot cities, produces a spatial spillover effect and the results are robust to the placebo test, propensity score matching SDID (PSM-SDID) test, and Carbon-ETS interference test. Further analysis shows that the policy effect is mainly driven by improving energy efficiency, promoting green innovation, and optimizing the industrial structure. In addition, we found that ETS performs better in regions with a high degree of marketization, strong environmental law enforcement, and a low proportion of coal consumption. In general, the identification method of this study can be used as a scientific reference for conducting similar research in other emerging countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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18 pages, 2836 KiB  
Article
Linking Innovative Human Capital, Economic Growth, and CO2 Emissions: An Empirical Study Based on Chinese Provincial Panel Data
by Xi Lin, Yongle Zhao, Mahmood Ahmad, Zahoor Ahmed, Husam Rjoub and Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(16), 8503; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168503 - 11 Aug 2021
Cited by 109 | Viewed by 6061
Abstract
To study the economic and environmental effects of human capital, previous studies measure human capital based on education; however, this approach has many shortcomings because not all educated people are innovative human capital. Hence, this study introduces the concept of innovative human capital [...] Read more.
To study the economic and environmental effects of human capital, previous studies measure human capital based on education; however, this approach has many shortcomings because not all educated people are innovative human capital. Hence, this study introduces the concept of innovative human capital by developing a new index that measures human capital based on the number of patents every one million R&D staff full-time equivalent. After this, this paper studies the impact of innovative human capital on CO2 emissions in China. The provincial panel data of 30 Chinese provinces from 2003 to 2017 is analyzed using the fixed effect, ordinary least squares, and the system generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM). The analysis revealed that innovative human capital alleviates environmental deterioration in China. The findings unfold the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) considering innovative human capital in the model. It implies that Chinese economic development will eventually support environmental sustainability if China continues to develop its innovative human capital. Among the control variables, economic structure, population density, and energy intensity stimulate environmental degradation by increasing CO2 emissions. However, FDI has a negative relationship with CO2 emissions. Lastly, the study proposes comprehensive policies to increase innovative human capital for environmental sustainability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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18 pages, 2922 KiB  
Article
Crop Production and Agricultural Carbon Emissions: Relationship Diagnosis and Decomposition Analysis
by Jianli Sui and Wenqiang Lv
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(15), 8219; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18158219 - 3 Aug 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3795
Abstract
Modern agriculture contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, and agriculture has become the second biggest source of carbon emissions in China. In this context, it is necessary for China to study the nexus of agricultural economic growth and carbon emissions. Taking Jilin province [...] Read more.
Modern agriculture contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, and agriculture has become the second biggest source of carbon emissions in China. In this context, it is necessary for China to study the nexus of agricultural economic growth and carbon emissions. Taking Jilin province as an example, this paper applied the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis and a decoupling analysis to examine the relationship between crop production and agricultural carbon emissions during 2000–2018, and it further provided a decomposition analysis of the changes in agricultural carbon emissions using the log mean Divisia index (LMDI) method. The results were as follows: (1) Based on the results of CO2 EKC estimation, an N-shaped EKC was found; in particular, the upward trend in agricultural carbon emissions has not changed recently. (2) According to the results of the decoupling analysis, expansive coupling occurred for 9 years, which was followed by weak decoupling for 5 years, and strong decoupling and strong coupling occurred for 2 years each. There was no stable evolutionary path from coupling to decoupling, and this has remained true recently. (3) We used the LMDI method to decompose the driving factors of agricultural carbon emissions into four factors: the agricultural carbon emission intensity effect, structure effect, economic effect, and labor force effect. From a policymaking perspective, we integrated the results of both the EKC and the decoupling analysis and conducted a detailed decomposition analysis, focusing on several key time points. Agricultural economic growth was found to have played a significant role on many occasions in the increase in agricultural carbon emissions, while agricultural carbon emission intensity was important to the decline in agricultural carbon emissions. Specifically, the four factors’ driving direction in the context of agricultural carbon emissions was not stable. We also found that the change in agricultural carbon emissions was affected more by economic policy than by environmental policy. Finally, we put forward policy suggestions for low-carbon agricultural development in Jilin province. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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14 pages, 2037 KiB  
Article
Linking Economic Growth, Urbanization, and Environmental Degradation in China: What Is the Role of Hydroelectricity Consumption?
by Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo, Mary Oluwatoyin Agboola, Husam Rjoub, Ibrahim Adeshola, Ephraim Bonah Agyekum and Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 6975; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136975 - 29 Jun 2021
Cited by 55 | Viewed by 4197
Abstract
Achieving environmental sustainability has become a global initiative whilst addressing climate change and its effects. Thus, this research re-assessed the EKC hypothesis in China and considered the effect of hydroelectricity use and urbanization, utilizing data from 1985 to 2019. The autoregressive distributed lag [...] Read more.
Achieving environmental sustainability has become a global initiative whilst addressing climate change and its effects. Thus, this research re-assessed the EKC hypothesis in China and considered the effect of hydroelectricity use and urbanization, utilizing data from 1985 to 2019. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing method was utilized to assess long-run cointegration, which is reinforced by a structural break. The outcome of the ARDL bounds test confirmed cointegration among the series. Furthermore, the ARDL revealed that both economic growth and urbanization trigger environmental degradation while hydroelectricity improves the quality of the environment. The outcome of the ARDL also validated the EKC hypothesis for China. In addition, the study employed the novel gradual shift causality test to capture causal linkage among the series. The advantage of the gradual shift causality test is that it can capture gradual or smooth shifts and does not necessitate previous information of the number, form of structural break(s), or dates. The outcomes of the causality test revealed causal connections among the series of interest. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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13 pages, 355 KiB  
Article
Do Environmental Stringency Policies and Human Development Reduce CO2 Emissions? Evidence from G7 and BRICS Economies
by Funda Hatice Sezgin, Yilmaz Bayar, Laura Herta and Marius Dan Gavriletea
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(13), 6727; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136727 - 22 Jun 2021
Cited by 46 | Viewed by 2993
Abstract
This study explores the impact of environmental policies and human development on the CO2 emissions for the period of 1995–2015 in the Group of Seven and BRICS economies in the long run through panel cointegration and causality tests. The causality analysis revealed [...] Read more.
This study explores the impact of environmental policies and human development on the CO2 emissions for the period of 1995–2015 in the Group of Seven and BRICS economies in the long run through panel cointegration and causality tests. The causality analysis revealed a bilateral causality between environmental stringency policies and CO2 emissions for Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and a unilateral causality from CO2 emissions to the environmental stringency policies for Canada, China, and France. On the other hand, the analysis showed a bilateral causality between human development and CO2 emissions for Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and unilateral causality from CO2 emissions to human development in Brazil, Canada, China, and France. Furthermore, the cointegration analysis indicated that both environmental stringency policies and human development had a decreasing impact on the CO2 emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
19 pages, 3117 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Joint Effect of Acute and Chronic Toxicity for Combined Assessment of Heavy Metals on Photobacterium sp.NAA-MIE
by Nur Adila Adnan, Mohd Izuan Effendi Halmi, Siti Salwa Abd Gani, Uswatun Hasanah Zaidan and Mohd Yunus Abd Shukor
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(12), 6644; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18126644 - 21 Jun 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2828
Abstract
Predicting the crucial effect of single metal pollutants against the aquatic ecosystem has been highly debatable for decades. However, dealing with complex metal mixtures management in toxicological studies creates a challenge, as heavy metals may evoke greater toxicity on interactions with other constituents [...] Read more.
Predicting the crucial effect of single metal pollutants against the aquatic ecosystem has been highly debatable for decades. However, dealing with complex metal mixtures management in toxicological studies creates a challenge, as heavy metals may evoke greater toxicity on interactions with other constituents rather than individually low acting concentrations. Moreover, the toxicity mechanisms are different between short term and long term exposure of the metal toxicant. In this study, acute and chronic toxicity based on luminescence inhibition assay using newly isolated Photobacterium sp.NAA-MIE as the indicator are presented. Photobacterium sp.NAA-MIE was exposed to the mixture at a predetermined ratio of 1:1. TU (Toxicity Unit) and MTI (Mixture Toxic Index) approach presented the mixture toxicity of Hg2+ + Ag+, Hg2+ + Cu2+, Ag+ + Cu2+, Hg2+ + Ag+ + Cu2+, and Cd2+ + Cu2+ showed antagonistic effect over acute and chronic test. Binary mixture of Cu2+ + Zn2+ was observed to show additive effect at acute test and antagonistic effect at chronic test while mixture of Ni2+ + Zn2+ showing antagonistic effect during acute test and synergistic effect during chronic test. Thus, the strain is suitable and their use as bioassay to predict the risk assessment of heavy metal under acute toxicity without abandoning the advantage of chronic toxicity extrapolation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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17 pages, 4853 KiB  
Article
An Innovative Approach to Determining the Contribution of Saharan Dust to Pollution
by Nicoletta Lotrecchiano, Vincenzo Capozzi and Daniele Sofia
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(11), 6100; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18116100 - 5 Jun 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2343
Abstract
Air quality is one of the hot topics of today, and many people are interested in it due to the harmful effects that environmental pollution has on human health. For this reason, in recent years, measurement systems based on advanced technology have been [...] Read more.
Air quality is one of the hot topics of today, and many people are interested in it due to the harmful effects that environmental pollution has on human health. For this reason, in recent years, measurement systems based on advanced technology have been implemented to integrate national air quality networks. This study aimed to analyze the air quality data of the monitoring network of the regional agency for environmental protection of the Campania region (Italy), integrated with a monitoring station based on IoT technology to highlight criticalities in the levels of pollution. The data used was from the month of February 2021 and measured in a medium-large city in southern Italy. In-depth analyses showed that two events related to Saharan dust occurred, which led to an increase in the measured PM10 values. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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20 pages, 5456 KiB  
Article
Purification of Wastewater from Biomass-Derived Syngas Scrubber Using Biochar and Activated Carbons
by Enrico Catizzone, Corradino Sposato, Assunta Romanelli, Donatella Barisano, Giacinto Cornacchia, Luigi Marsico, Daniela Cozza and Massimo Migliori
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(8), 4247; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084247 - 16 Apr 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3572
Abstract
Phenol is a major component in the scrubber wastewater used for syngas purification in biomass-based gasification plants. Adsorption is a common strategy for wastewater purification, and carbon materials, such as activated carbons and biochar, may be used for its remediation. In this work, [...] Read more.
Phenol is a major component in the scrubber wastewater used for syngas purification in biomass-based gasification plants. Adsorption is a common strategy for wastewater purification, and carbon materials, such as activated carbons and biochar, may be used for its remediation. In this work, we compare the adsorption behavior towards phenol of two biochar samples, produced by pyrolysis and gasification of lignocellulose biomass, with two commercial activated carbons. Obtained data were also used to assess the effect of textural properties (i.e., surface area) on phenol removal. Continuous tests in lab-scale columns were also carried out and the obtained data were processed with literature models in order to obtain design parameters for scale-up. Results clearly indicate the superiority of activated carbons due to the higher pore volume, although biomass-derived char may be more suitable from an economic and environmental point of view. The phenol adsorption capacity increases from about 65 m/g for gasification biochar to about 270 mg/g for the commercial activated carbon. Correspondingly, service time of commercial activated carbons was found to be about six times higher than that of gasification biochar. Finally, results indicate that phenol may be used as a model for characterizing the adsorption capacity of the investigated carbon materials, but in the case of real waste water the carbon usage rate should be considered at least 1.5 times higher than that calculated for phenol. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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18 pages, 1087 KiB  
Article
Environmental Compliance and Enterprise Innovation: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Enterprises
by Meng Liu, Yun Liu and Yongliang Zhao
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(4), 1924; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041924 - 17 Feb 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2926
Abstract
This paper embeds environmental compliance factor and compliance cost factor into the M-O monopolistic competition and multi-product firm model to construct a theoretical model applicable to environmental compliance and enterprise innovation. In addition, we also construct a new environmental compliance index. We use [...] Read more.
This paper embeds environmental compliance factor and compliance cost factor into the M-O monopolistic competition and multi-product firm model to construct a theoretical model applicable to environmental compliance and enterprise innovation. In addition, we also construct a new environmental compliance index. We use the random-effects Tobit model and the double hurdle model to empirically test the micro-data from the Database of China Industrial Enterprises from 1998 to 2013, then we use the Generalized Propensity Score Matching (GPSM) to conduct a robustness test. The robustness conclusion is that environmental compliance has a significant U-shaped relationship with enterprise innovation, which means, environmental compliance will inhibit enterprise innovation on the left of the inflection point of environmental compliance (0.669), while environmental compliance on the right of the inflection point will promote enterprise innovation. The sub-sample regressions show that, enhanced environmental compliance of state-owned enterprises, mature enterprises, core area enterprises and export enterprises with low level of the environmental compliance, makes the greater inhibition to enterprise innovation, and enhanced environmental compliance of above enterprises with high level of the environmental compliance, makes the greater contribution to enterprise innovation. To this end, the government should adopt the policy, from the shallower to the deeper, to promote the construction of environmental compliance, and identify the inflection point of the environmental compliance on enterprise innovation to stimulate the role of environmental compliance in promoting enterprise innovation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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Review

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30 pages, 755 KiB  
Review
Treatment of Manure and Digestate Liquid Fractions Using Membranes: Opportunities and Challenges
by Maria Salud Camilleri-Rumbau, Kelly Briceño, Lene Fjerbæk Søtoft, Knud Villy Christensen, Maria Cinta Roda-Serrat, Massimiliano Errico and Birgir Norddahl
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(6), 3107; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18063107 - 17 Mar 2021
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 4585
Abstract
Manure and digestate liquid fractions are nutrient-rich effluents that can be fractionated and concentrated using membranes. However, these membranes tend to foul due to organic matter, solids, colloids, and inorganic compounds including calcium, ammonium, sodium, sulfur, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium contained in the [...] Read more.
Manure and digestate liquid fractions are nutrient-rich effluents that can be fractionated and concentrated using membranes. However, these membranes tend to foul due to organic matter, solids, colloids, and inorganic compounds including calcium, ammonium, sodium, sulfur, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium contained in the feed. This review paper is intended as a theoretical and practical tool for the decision-making process during design of membrane-based systems aiming at processing manure liquid fractions. Firstly, this review paper gives an overview of the main physico-chemical characteristics of manure and digestates. Furthermore, solid-liquid separation technologies are described and the complexity of the physico-chemical variables affecting the separation process is discussed. The main factors influencing membrane fouling mechanisms, morphology and characteristics are described, as well as techniques covering membrane inspection and foulant analysis. Secondly, the effects of the feed characteristics, membrane operating conditions (pressure, cross-flow velocity, temperature), pH, flocculation-coagulation and membrane cleaning on fouling and membrane performance are presented. Finally, a summary of techniques for specific recovery of ammonia-nitrogen, phosphorus and removal of heavy metals for farm effluents is also presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Impact Assessment by Green Processes)
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